A marketing director is one of the highest, if not the highest position in marketing. They are responsible for overseeing the whole of the marketing process of a business and will manage the marketing managers. Their tasks will be on a high level. On a day to day basis these will be some of their responsibilities:
- Planning marketing strategies
- Overseeing marketing campaigns
- Planning the yearly marketing budget
- Hiring individuals for the marketing team
As well as many more tasks. Ultimately, they will be the deciding voice on what goes ahead with marketing campaigns.
In the UK, the average salary of a marketing director is around £75,000 per year and could even increase to £90,000.
Relevant Qualifications
In order to get into a marketing director role, you will likely need some reputable qualifications such as:
- Marketing
- Business management
- Advertising
- Communications
A degree would be very advantageous. The degree levels the UK are at level 6. Gaining more than a degree, such as a postgraduate qualification would show your commitment and skill even further. Candidates are chosen for director roles if they show the highest level of expertise.
Other shorter courses would also be great to add to your skillset. Qualifications alone are not the only thing that will determine whether you get the job, they also want people who have a wealth of years of real-life experience working in a marketing manager role or something similar. A short course can add to that experience and give you the edge. For example, an SEO course would be great for increasing your skills or refreshing your skills since the academic study, before full time working.
Additional Ways to Increase Your Value
As well as qualifications, you can do additional things to ensure that you stand out from the competition.
- Become a member of a reputable professional body
If you become a member of a body such as the Chartered Management Institute you will be professionally recognized. The membership indicates that you have fantastic management and leadership skills and will offer you Chartered Manager status. It is said that Chartered Managers have an average pay rise of £13,000 per year as a result. Not only this, but you are likely to be viewed as exceptional for a marketing director role.
- Continue to Develop Your Skills
One of the other ways to increase your professional value is to complete CPD hours (Continuing Professional Development) which are offered by way of short courses. In this way, you can gain some skills in new and emerging areas of marketing.
- Proven Experience in Running Marketing Campaigns
There is absolutely no way that you could be a marketing director without having done some managing work before. They are usually going to hire those who have been successful when overseeing and running campaigns.
Key Skills Required
In addition to qualifications, experience, and those additional ways to increase your value, you are going to need some skills to demonstrate at interviews.
- Confidence – You are going to need a great deal of confidence and love public speaking. For directors of marketing, they need to be great at talking and communicating and therefore creating networks. That’s where TED-style coaching can make a significant difference, helping marketing directors build the confidence and communication skills required to excel in creating valuable networks through public speaking.
- Deal with High-Pressure Situations – As a marketing director, dealing with a high workload and a great deal of responsibility including being able to meet deadlines, you will have to operate well when there are times of stress. Without this ability, you may find yourself feeling too overwhelmed.
- Adapt to Change – As businesses are developing and more and more competition is arising, as a marketing director you will need to respond to this and create professional, innovative ideas to keep up with the changing trends.